Owners of General Motors and Tesla are loyal to their vehicles.
At least according to S&P Global Mobility, who recently announced the winners of its 28th annual Automotive Loyalty Awards. General Motors was recognized as the winner of its ‘Overall Loyalty to Manufacturer’ award and Tesla for ‘Overall Loyalty to Make.’
In a new addition to the awards for 2024, the Lincoln Nautilus was recognized in the ‘Overall Loyalty to Model’ category.
General Motors’ win for the ‘Overall Loyalty to Manufacturer’ category marks its ninth consecutive award and 20 out of the last 28 years. High migration patterns across its four brands, in addition to a heavy sport-utility and pickup lineup, led to strong loyalty gains for the manufacturer throughout 2023.
Lincoln Nautilus Honored
According to the S&P Global Mobility analysis, overall brand loyalty was at 51.0% in 2023, an increase of 0.8 percentage points (PPTs) compared to 2022 levels of 50.2%. The increase was credited to a steady increase in inventory levels that yielded a positive impact to industry loyalty levels for the first time since 2019.
The recognition of the Lincoln Nautilus is due to S&P Global Mobility adding a new award to acknowledge a single model’s leadership in model level retention, with the “Overall Loyalty to Model” award.
The Nautilus follows its back-to-back recognition in 2022 and 2023 for the ‘Luxury Mid-Size Utility’ segment award. In 2023, more than 42% of Nautilus owners returning to market for their next vehicle chose another Nautilus.
Sales Increasing
Tracking consumer buying activity from January-December 2023, the industry is showing continued signs of recovery, as both retail sales and loyalty increased year-over-year.
“The last few years have shown us that customers are becoming more comfortable to consider and purchase a new vehicle outside their preferred brand,” said Joe LaFeir, President, Automotive Insights, S&P Global Mobility in a press statement.
“However, concerted efforts from OEMs to improve retention through unique marketing initiatives, alongside improving inventory levels and great new products, are resulting in a stabilizing of loyalty levels, after several years of decline.”
Tesla Triumphs
Tesla’s popularity in the electric vehicle sector helped the brand to success in both the loyalty and conquest space. For 2023, the Elon Musk-owned company scored repeat wins for ‘Overall Loyalty to Make’, ‘Highest Conquest Percentage’, “Alternative Powertrain Loyalty to Make’ and ‘Ethnic Market Loyalty to Make.’
The popularity of both the Model 3 and Model Y among current owners, along with the brand’s ability to attract many ICE customers to the BEV space, contributed to Tesla’s multiple awards for the second year in a row.
Vince Palomarez, product management associate director, Loyalty, at S&P Global Mobility, offered that the awards truly exemplify the industry’s competitiveness and desire to improve customer retention.
Acura, Nissan, Mitsubishi Recognized
“The awards reflect substantial fact-based analysis, which allows us to understand and determine conquest and loyalty rates, while providing guidance to OEM marketers and their agency partners to help improve loyalty programs and customer retention,” said Palomarez,
Notable first time winners included Acura receiving the ‘Most Improved Make Loyalty’ category and Nissan was awarded ‘the Overall Loyalty to Dealer’ award, as more than 37% of the brands’ owners returning to market acquired their next vehicle from the same dealer.
Mitsubishi’s redesigned Outlander PHEV brought home the ‘Most Improved Alternative Powertrain Loyalty to Make’ award, recognizing a brand’s improvement in its ability to retain an owner to both the brand and either a BEV or hybrid powertrain.
A complete list of 2023 award winners follows (*Asterisk denotes a repeat winner from the 2022 awards.)
MANUFACTURER AND MAKE LOYALTY AWARDS WINNER
Overall Loyalty to Manufacturer: General Motors*
Overall Loyalty to Make: Tesla*
Overall Loyalty to Model (new award for 2023): Lincoln Nautilus
Ethnic Market Loyalty to Make: Tesla*
Most Improved Make Loyalty: Acura
Overall Loyalty to Dealer: Nissan
Highest Conquest Percentage: Tesla*
Alternative Powertrain Loyalty to Make: Tesla*
Most Improved Alternative Powertrain Loyalty to Make: Mitsubishi
SEGMENT MODEL LOYALTY AWARDS WINNER
Small Utility: Nissan Rogue
Mid-Size Utility: Jeep Grand Cherokee
Full-Size Utility: Ford Expedition
Mid-Size Pickup; Ford Maverick
Light-Duty Pickup: Ford F-Series*
Heavy-Duty Pickup: GMC Sierra 2500/3500
Van: Chrysler Pacifica
Sports Car: Dodge Challenger*
Small Car: Chevrolet Bolt*
Large Car: Honda Accord
Luxury Small Utility: Lincoln Corsair
Luxury Mid-Size Utility: Lincoln Nautilus*
Luxury Full-Size Utility: Land Rover Range Rover*
Luxury Sports Car: Porsche 911
Luxury Small Car: Cadillac CT5
Luxury Mid-Size Car: Lexus ES*
Luxury Full-Size Car: Mercedes-Benz S-Class*